Many services recently are designed to help homebuyers and sellers complete their own real estate transactions. Thus may give many a feeling of a real estate agent a thing of the past. While handling all the detailed work yourself can save you on commissions that many real estate agents command, for many, flying solo may not be the way to go, and could end up being more costly than just a commission in the long run.

Buying or selling a condo or townhome is a major financial and emotional undertaking. You should not discard the notion of hiring a Boston Luxe Real Estate to handle these important transactions.Consider what Boston Luxe can provide you:

Better Access/More Convenience. A real estate agent’s full time job is to act as a liason between sellers and buyers. They have access to all the properties listed by other agents what is needed to put the deal together and close. Example: if you are searching for a home, the agent will track down the homes that meet your requirements, get in touch with the sellers’ agent and make the necessary arrangements for you to look at the home. If you are on your own, you will have to play the telephone tag game yourself, and this could be even more difficult if you are shopping for homes that are for sale by owner. If you are trying to sell your home on your own, you will have to be available to take calls from interested people, answer questions, make call backs and appointments. Potential buyers will tend to move on to another property if you do not call them back or do not respond right away. You may make appointments, rush home to show the house and no one shows up.

Negotiating is Tricky Business. There are many people that do not like the idea of doing a real estate deal using an agent and think that direct negotiation between sellers and buyers is more open and transparent and allows the parties to look after their own interests much better. This may be true if you assume that both the buyer and seller are reasonable people who are able to get along. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the way it goes.

Lets say that you, as a buyer, likes a home but doesn’t particularly like the wood paneled walls, shag carpet and the orange kitchen. If you are using an agent, you can express your dislikes of the sellers decorating skills and rant about how much it will cost you to upgrade the home without insulting the owner. For all you know, the sellers late mother may have lovingly chosed the decor herself. Your real estate agent can convey your concerns to the sellers agent. Acting as a messenger, the agent may be in a better position to negotiate a discount without ruffling the homeowner’s feathers. A real estate agent can also play the bad guy in a transaction, preventing any bad blood between a buyer and seller that might kill a deal. Keep in mind that a seller can reject a potential offer for any reason, including just because they dont like the buyer. An agent can help by speaking for you in tough transactions and smoothing things over to keep them from getting too personal. This puts you in a better position to get the house you want. The same is true for the seller, who can benefit from a hard nosed real estate agent who will represent his or her interests without turning off potential buyers who want to niggle about the price.

Contracts Can Be Hard to Handle. If you decide to sell or buy a home, the offer to purchase contract is there to protect you and ensure that you are able to back out of any deal if certain conditions are not met. For example, if you plan to buy a home with a mortgage loan but you fail to make financing one of the conditions of the sale, and you aren’t approved for the loan, then you can lose your deposit on the home and could even be sued by the seller for failing to fulfill your end of the contract.

An experienced real estate agent deals with the same contracts and conditions on a regular basis and is familiar with which conditions should be used, when they can be removed safely and how to use the contract to protect you, whether you are selling or buying the home.

Real Estate Agent Never Lie.Well, okay, I guess they can and do, however because they are licensed professionals there are many more repercussions if they do than for an independant buyer or seller. If you are workig with a licensed real estate agent under an agency agreement, such as a conventional full service commission agreement, in which the agent agrees to represent you, your agent will be bound by law to a fiduciary relationship. In other words, the agent is bound by law to act in his clients’ best interest, not his own. Also, most real estate agents depend on referrals and repeat business to build the kind of client base they need to survive in business. This means that doing what is best for their clients should be as important to them as any individual sale.

Any time a buyer and seller work together directly, they can, and should, seek legal counsel, but because each is expected to act in his or her best interest, there isn’t much you can do if you find out later that you have been duped about multiple offers, or the home’s condition. And having a lawyer on retainer any time you want to talk about potentially buying and selling a house could cos far more than an agent’s commissions by the time the deal is completed.

Not Everyone Can Save Money. Many people eschew using a real estate agent in order to save money, but remember that it is unlikely that both the seller and buyer will reap the benefits of not having to pay commissions. For example, if you are selling your home on your own, you will price it based on the sale prices of other comparable properties in your area. Many of these properties will be sold with the help of real estate agents. This means that the seller gets to keep the percentage of the home’s sale price that might otherwise be paid to the real estate agent.

Buyers who are looking to purchase a home sold by the owners, may also believe they can save some money on the home by not having an agent involved. They might even expect it and make an offer accordingly on the home. However, unless the buyer and seller agree to split the savings, they both can’t save commission. While there are certainly people who are more than qualified to sell their own homes, taking a quick look at the long list of frequently asked questions that appear on most “for sale by owner” websites suggests the process isn’t as simple as many people assume. And, when you get into a difficult situation, it can really pay to have a professional, like a real estate agent and his/her broker, on your side.

About Maxwell

MAXWELL@BOSTONLUXE.COM • CELL: (617) 543-7754 • OFFICE: (617) 267-4600
Maxwell Burke began his real estate career nearly 20 years ago doing appraisals with his father in Southern California and Northern Texas. He grew up in a family environment so oriented towards investment and real estate that to call his upbringing entrepreneurial would be a disservice. From his grandfather's multiple developments ranging from British Columbia down into Southern Mexico to his uncle's holdings in Portland, Oregon, Maxwell has been given a view not just of Boston real estate, but of American real estate. Maxwell and Drew Abysalh met in 2009 and increasingly consolidated their business models together culminating in their partnership in 2011. With over 300 real estate deals under his belt ranging from a standard rental to a $1.5 million condo conversion, Maxwell is a tremendous resource to help you realize your real estate dreams. Welcome to Boston Luxe - it's a pleasure to meet you.
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